Cendrillon
by Bommie
Summary: Set in 19th Century London, young noblemen slash detectives Aomine Daiki and Kise Ryota's latest mission is to buy a slave from a human auction so that said bought person will act as witness regarding the auction. But what if Kuroko Tetsuya, the boy they bought for 25 million, refuses to be a witness?
1. The Boy Worth 25 Million

**[Setting: 19th Century London]**

The guests of the ball watches as a handsome blonde charms another lady while his companion, a tanned one, is being surrounded by girls. The women watch in envy towards the girl the blonde is flirting with, and the men wishes they were the tanned teenager.

Everyone sees as the other excuses himself from the ladies and went over to the blonde. "Kise, let's go!" Aomine hisses as he pulls Kise by the arm, dragging him away from the beautiful girl he was talking to earlier.

"Aominechii!" Before he can be out of sight, Kise shoots a smile at the girl, "I'll see you around, my lady!" The girl blushes and waves at him goodbye.

Once they were outside the ballroom, Aomine lets go of the blonde, faces him, and says, "Kise, stop fooling around! That Miyagi guy has already went out! Remember that we are posing as bidders for the auction of humans. Don't let your guard down, or else, Midorima will kill us."

All fun disappeared from Kise's face. He becomes serious, nodding at Aomine. They both sneak a glance at the ballroom wherein most of the comers have already gone for the auction.

Kise Ryota and Aomine Daiki are both sons of Dukes, earning them the title Marquis. Though they should be enjoying the aristocratic life, the two spends their time doing missions for the Intelligence Team.

This night, their current task is to see if the rumour about the auction of humans is true, and if it is, then they would need to bid for a slave themselves to bring back proof to the head of their team, Midorima Shintaro.

Posing as the rich men they are with the want to buy a slave, they have graced the party from earlier. Both men rarely accept invitations; even Kise who is very outgoing. As their sources have gathered, the one hosting the auctions is Miyagi, a Viscount.

Walking along corridors and entering doors, Aomine and Kise find themselves inside a room with the source of light coming from candles. People of high standing are all sitting in luxury sofas lined up in front of the stage while holding signboards of their name.

Aomine and Kise took the seat nearest the miniature stage. Miyagi appears in an instant, a spot light pointing at him.

"Everyone, I welcome you to another night of bidding! I know that we are all impatient, so without further ado, let us start the auction!" Miyagi says with a wave of his hand, the spot light transferring to the human slave who is standing naked with grey-brown hair and his hands shackled.

Before anyone else could bid for the man, or for Miyagi to describe him and his price, a guy wearing glasses with neck-length blond hair raises his signboard and shouts, "Five million."

Miyagi looks surprised for a while but the smile returns, "Five million? Anyone else higher than that?" Seeing that nobody is opposing the glasses guy's bid, Miyagi nods at the man whose face is covered by the darkness. The man nods back and shakes the bell, signifying that it is sold.

"Well, generous buyer, this man is yours! Congratulations!"

After three more human slaves, Miyagi announces, "And now, for the final one!" Aomine and Kise looked surprise at that. "Already the last one! Damn it, Kise! We have to buy this one then for proof of this stupid human trafficking business!"

Kise nods, "Right on!"

Miyagi sighs dramatically, his hands brushing his bangs, "As much as I want this human for my own, I don't seem to have enough money to buy him my self." His smile returns, "Now, for the main event, we have, Kuroko Tetsuya!"

Two men brought out a short boy with very pale and smooth-looking skin. His head is bent down covering his face with his blue hair. Like all the other slaves, he also had shackles. But unlike the others, he is being pushed on a wheelchair, seeing that the boy refused to move anyway.

His wrists and hands cover his lower body, and though he remains unmoving, Kise and Aomine can notice his shoulders trembling a bit.

"Kuroko Tetsuya is a rare beauty." Miyagi pauses and reaches out to cup Kuroko's jaw and show his face to the bidders. He has large blue eyes glossed and pink lips. "Doesn't he look like he is royalty? I admit that he is more beautiful than the girls."

"We start the bid at eight million." Miyagi announces, secretly hoping that no one would actually bid for Kuroko to keep him for his self.

"Nine million!"

"Ten million!"

"Twelve million!"

Aomine clicks his tongue in annoyance, raises his signboard and shouts, "Twenty five million!" The crowd went silent at the voice of the tanned boy. They know they don't have that kind of money, but he has, so why bother anymore?

* * *

With the help of Aomine's servant, someone named Sakurai, he and Kise have managed to escape out of Miyagi's home without being questioned anymore.

"Another successful mission!" Kise cheers once he, Aomine and the boy are inside Aomine's carriage while Sakurai is in front driving (using a horse). Aomine nods in agreement, feeling glad that once again, he has proved Midorima wrong that he is more than a pampered royal and can accomplish simple things. After all, he and Kise have gone into far more ordeals compared to this.

Aomine glances at his blonde partner when he stopped talking. It's rare for Kise to ever stop gushing about anything. Kise is looking at the boy they have bought. A blanket was draped over him, his bangs are covering his eyes, and he is trembling.

"Um, Kuroko-san, are you alright?" Kise asks, smiling politely at the other. If this was any other situation, Aomine would've hit his head. This boy just got through a human trafficking auction _naked_, and Kise is asking him if he is alright?

The boy nods, and after that Kise didn't spoke again. Aomine also notices that this boy has very clear skin compared to all the other commoners or servants auctioned. Like what Miyagi said, Kuroko Tetsuya does look like royalty.

"Kuroko-san, don't worry! Aominechii and I won't be doing anything wrong with you!" Kise exclaims with a beaming smile, "In fact, the both of us are-.. Mmph!" Aomine covers the blonde's mouth with his hand; effectively shutting him up.

"Kise, why do you need to tell everything to everyone!" Aomine shouts at him. Kise whines and bites Aomine's hand, making the other hiss in pain. He lets go of Kise to take a look at his swelling hand, "Why, you! Kise!"

He was about to punch the other who is taunting him when they heard laughter, no, a _giggle _coming from Kuroko. "Eh? Kuroko-san?" Kise looked at the boy as if he came from another planet, and so is Aomine.

"It's fun to have friends." He says softly to the two, albeit smiling sadly, "I wish I had friends too."

Kise, being the more emotional one, becomes teary-eyed. He pushes Aomine off and hugs Kuroko, "Wah, Kurokochii!" Aomine glares at the blonde, shouting profanities that will make his posh mother disown him out of shame.

Aomine didn't fail to notice that Kise also have already added the suffix 'chii' after Kuroko's name. He couldn't help but smiling a bit too. Maybe choosing Kuroko as the one to help them out isn't such a bad thing after all.

"Mister, what were you saying earlier?" Kuroko asks Kise. Kise grins and began explaining, "Ah, well, the reason why Aominechii bought you is because we will be using you as witness!"

A vein pops at Aomine's head, "Kise, shut your mouth! We were not supposed to tell it to him instantly!" Kise sticks out his tongue, further annoying his tanned friend.

"Witness for what?" Kuroko asked calmly, staring at the two. Aomine sighs, 'Might as well tell him.'

"You see, this idiot and I," Kise glares at him for that, "Works for the Intelligence Team; a group of detectives who are far more better than the stupid Scotland Yard. Our latest mission is to get a witness to say it in public that Viscount Miyagi is hosting human auctions."

The boy's next words made Aomine take back what he thought earlier about how buying Kuroko might be a good idea.

"I'm sorry gentleman, but because of reasons, I must refuse."

* * *

A new KnB story. I'll hope you support this story. By the way, I will be basing the settings from Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji) and Godchild. Also, the image cover is made (or more typically, edited) by me. The image used in there is not mine (I just edited it to make it black and blue), and so is the Black Butler font. I had to rotate it upwards so that it'll fit. To those interested to see the full image of the cover, please refer to my profile or I can PM you the link.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.


	2. He's Got A Secret

"What? Did you just say no?" Aomine asks in disbelief. Kuroko looked up at him with firm blue eyes boring straight into his own dark blue ones. The boy that was quivering earlier because of the cold weather prickling his skin is nowhere to be found.

"That's right, Aomine-san. I said no. And I think that I' am entitled to choose what I want." He replies plainly. Aomine glares at him, his hand turning into fists, "You are not! I bought you for 25 million, and you will just refuse!?"

Kise watches as the boy stares back at Aomine without fear. He wanted to take Aomine's side, but he just couldn't move as the two exchange words. Aomine kept on throwing things, but Kuroko kept on countering them.

It is one of those rare times that Aomine is actually having a heated argument with someone without using his fists.

"Listen, Kuroko Tetsuya! You don't have a choice, do you understand? After I bought you, you are automatically to follow whatever I want you to do!" Aomine shouts. Kuroko didn't speak again and just leaned down on his seat.

Aomine huffs and turns to Kise, "Call Midorima. He needs to know about this." Kise looks surprised. He gasped before saying, "I don't want to, Aominechii!" Kise internally shudders, remembering all the times he got punished by Midorima just because he was being his usual self.

The carriage stops in front of Aomine's house. Sakurai opens the door for them much more nervously than his usual self. Obviously, he has heard the conversation from earlier. Aomine was the first to get down.

"Sakurai, call Midorima." Aomine demands to the other. Sakurai gulps. He didn't want to, but he knows that he have to. "Y-Yes!" The three left outside watches as Sakurai sprints to the huge double doors that were automatically opened by the Aomine family's butler.

Aomine glares at Kise, "I'm going inside first." He walks off, leaving Kise and Kuroko alone. Kuroko kept silent, tugging on the blanket around him closer to his body while Kise nervously fidgets on his seat.

"Will you return me to the auction house because of this?" Kuroko asks, casting his eyes toward the ground. Though void of emotion, Kise knows what the other might be feeling even without words.

He smiles comfortingly towards the other, placing his hand on top of the other's head, "Don't worry. I won't let Aominechii do that." For a reason, Kuroko feels comforted even with just this simple act from the blonde.

"But," Kise says in a soft but serious voice, "You should just follow Aominechii. He has a point, you know? He did bought you for a huge amount of money. All that Aominechii, including me, is asking you to be a witness for the human trafficking going on. Don't you want to help those other slaves being auctioned?"

"I don't just agree to someone's whim. Who do you think I' am?" Kuroko says sharply.

Kise looks surprised by the boy's statement. Not only him, but Kuroko himself was surprised that he said such a thing.

"I-I'm sorry!" He quickly says, hanging his head low. Kise sighs, "No, I must be the one to apologize. You're a fellow human being too, and I guess Aominechii are making you uncomfortable with the situation, so I understand."

Kuroko looks taken aback by Kise's obvious sincerity. "You mean that?" Casting his head down again, Kuroko continued, "I'm just a lowly human compared to you. After all, standards and rankings are important."

"Where do you even learn about those sort of stuff? Rankings are nothing, Kurokochii. To other people it might be important, but honestly, those are nothing. Rankings are just a suffix added to your name. To me, everyone is equal."

'Equal?' The word echoes in Kuroko's mind. He smiles lightly, looking down at the floor as if he is lost in a trance, "Everyone is equal, huh.."

Before Kise could say more, Aomine's head poke from the double doors of his manor, shouting, he says, "Will you two hurry up?" With a huff, Aomine walks toward their direction, glaring at the two. "You're too slow!"

Without any warning, Aomine pulled Kuroko's wrist to stand up, making the blanket covering Kuroko's naked form go down to the ground. Reacting before this happened, Kise jumped, saying, "No! Kurokochii!" As soon as he tried to help the other boy, he tripped and pulled Kuroko and Aomine with him.

They hear the sound of the door to Aomine's house opening, and out came Sakurai. Upon seeing that Kuroko is stark naked with Kise and Aomine on top of him, he blushed dark red and flees the scene saying "I'm sorry for intruding!" as he runs back inside the mansion.

"He's thinking what I'm thinking, isn't he?" Kise mutters. Aomine grumbles in annoyance, "Stupid Kise! Of course he is!" A voice broke the two out of their trances; "Can you two get away from me now?"

In an instant, the two were on their feet turning their heads away while blushing like Sakurai was. Kuroko watches the two with amusement as they arrange their wrinkled clothes and messy hair. He grabs the blanket and covers his self like earlier.

"I'm covered now." He tells the two. Aomine scratches the back of his head, "We should get you some clothes. Maybe Sakurai has old ones that might fit you." Kuroko nods in understanding, "Thank you for your consideration towards me." He says with a bow.

Not knowing what to do, Aomine fumbles as he walk; pulling Kuroko up. "You don't need to thank me!"

The three of them ushers inside the Aomine manor. Once inside, Aomine orders Sakurai for clothes that might fit Kuroko and to serve tea since they will be meeting with Midorima.

"Aominechii, I don't want you to return him to the auction house!" Kise says. Aomine rolls his eyes, "I will not! You think I will after wasting good money on him?" Kise grins, thinking that Aomine is just using money as an excuse. After all, he knows that the other isn't so heartless as others deem him to be.

"If I may intrude in your pointless argument, what is the meaning behind Sakurai calling me at this time of night claiming that it was an emergency?"

Turning their heads to the source of the voice, they see the familiar mop of green hair and the trademark glasses of the head of the Intelligence Team; Midorima Shintaro. With an exclamation of "Midorimachii!" from Kise, the greetings were over and a serious air takes over.

"So you're saying that the slave you have bought refuses to act as witness?" Midorima asks with a glare. Though, however serious he may look, he looks absolutely comical with the squid stuff toy on his hand which apparently is his lucky item for the day.

"That's the gist of it." Aomine clarifies. Midorima pushes up his glasses, a habit, to show his disappointment. "I'm sure I can talk that human into doing our bidding."

"Why, you're a human too, Midorimachii!" Kise says with a blinding grin, as if his statement was perfectly normal. Aomine prevents a guffaw from coming out of his mouth, and instead, just smirks and adds more to Kise's jibe, "Unless you're not."

The green-haired man glares at his fellow Marquis' and flexes his left hand slowly as to not let his lucky item drop. "If you must know, I have broke the punching bag back at home with my left hand. Maybe you two would like to act as replacement for me to let out some steam?"

Kise, the ever idiot who can't read into things unless he really needs to, laughs and brushes Midorima off, "Midorimachii, I have a punching bag at home!"

Aomine hits Kise across the head and Midorima's aura grew darker. Knowing that no good would come out if he continued talking to the blonde, Midorima just sighed, stood-up, and excused himself to go to the toilet.

As he walk, Midorima thinks about all the incantations he know that he promises he will mutter later at his home to make sure Gemini, Kise's sign, gets the worst luck tomorrow. A bump at his chest stops Midorima from walking. He glances down, and, since he didn't see anything, continued walking.

"Um, excuse me."

The sudden sound of an unknown voice made the hairs on Midorima's back to stand up. He tried to compose himself, and he had to held back a scream when a small figure with blue hair and eyes wearing brown slacks, a white polo and barefoot places his lucky item back at his hand.

"Your belonging fell." Kuroko tells him plainly. Kuroko, not knowing what to call the squid stuff toy, just settled with the term belonging. After all, Kuroko believes that all stuff toys are cute, cuddly and children-friendly, but the squid looked nothing like that at all.

Midorima finally found his voice, and before speaking, he clears this throat, "And who might you be?"

"Ah, I'm Kuroko Tetsuya. You must be Midorima?"

Putting two and two together, Midorima realizes that this might be the slave that Aomine and Kise had got from the auction. But to Midorima's eyes, he is dead sure that the boy is definitely not a peasant.

No commoner can afford looking this good and pampered-like unless they had connections. Another thing is that Midorima thinks that he has seen the boy before.

"Are you the one Aomine and Kise had gotten?" With a nod, Midorima got his confirmation that the boy is surely the slave. But still, to him, this Kuroko Tetsuya is utmost, a very suspicious being.

Getting straight to the point, Midorima outright tells Kuroko his thoughts. "Why are you not in agreement with Aomine and Kise? After all, as I've heard, 25 million was wasted on someone like you."

"It's a violation of human rights. I was taught that just because someone asked me something, doesn't mean I have to be in agreement." Was Kuroko's simple reply. 'So, he is not just a commoner with luxuries, but have also studied? How did he became a slave then?'

Though Midorima doesn't have proof about the things he is thinking about the boy, he is sure he is right about him.

"How do you think you can repay Aomine his money then? Will you do it as the Romans do it?" Midorima asks with all seriousness. Kuroko let's out a small smile; Midorima is testing him. 'He is testing my knowledge. He knows about me. But not exactly the right kind of truth.' Kuroko deducts, still smiling.

With a sigh, Kuroko replied as seriously as the question was, "I will not. But I will extend my hand to help them as payment for helping me out of the auction house. I have already thought about it and, when Aomine-kun and Kise-kun is present, I shall present my proposal to you three."

Midorima glares, "What if this proposal will only benefit you?" Kuroko shakes his head, "I assure you that everyone will get something out of this. Still, the decision to agree is within you three. I suggest you do say yes though."

"You speak like a scholar; or someone of access to knowledge. Are you a spy, or are you really a mere peasant who have been entered into the auction house?" Midorima asks bluntly. He can see that this Kuroko Tetsuya is willing to let him know things.

"More of the latter. Not of your first deduction, but also a bit not of the second one." Kuroko's witty smile, together with the straightforwardness lacing through his voice already convinced Midorima.

It was as if this boy knows how to persuade very nicely. 'He can be a good vessel for the organization.' Midorima concludes.

"I know I can trust you, but I'm not saying I can't trust Aomine-kun and Kise-kun, but I'll let you know that I' am not a peasant. Nor am I a spy. You can either know who I am or not when you hear my proposal."

At that exact moment, Aomine and Kise comes bounding up on them. "Kurokochii! Did Midorimachii do anything to you?" The shorter of the two shakes his head and looks at Midorima; signaling him to be the one to talk.

Aomine grumbles under his breath about Kise running around his house and ruining the carpet.

"You two, what are you doing here being idle?" He asks with a raised brow. Midorima looks at the two and starts, "I have talked to him regarding his disappointment towards us with not agreeing to be witness. He has told me that he has a proposal for us to still help us, and I say, let's hear it."

Without any other word said, the three turned to Kuroko in waiting for his proposal.

"I will help you in proving that Viscount Miyagi is a criminal, but not in the way of acting as a witness. I shall help by collecting information with you, doing things that you will do, offer a helping hand and frame Viscount Miyagi for his crime. When the case is done, in exchange, you will let me to go on my own way. If you must know, I would like to escape the city and live in the country far away from everything else."

The three men were thoroughly impressed with him. Kuroko spoke with conviction and seriousness. Though not sure if he may be really of help, they have come to an agreement to let Kuroko stay and help them until the end of the case.

* * *

At that night, Kuroko was brought to one of the many guest rooms of Aomine's house. Sprawled on the red loveseat, Kuroko reads a book that came from the bookshelf inside the guest room. With only a candle lit, Kuroko though is not having a hard time reading it.

After hearing the grandfather clock chime, Kuroko closes the book and closes his eyes with a sigh escaping his lips.

'After all this is over, I can finally be on my own. After all, hanging out with nobles like them will get my cover blown.'

* * *

Apparently, in this story, Kuroko is not a weakling. Though physically he is, mentally he is definitely not. This story is full of twists and turns, so watch out for it. I also deeply apologize if the words appear too deep, but the story's setting is the 19th Century, so of course interacting must be formal. Since Kise and Aomine are friends, they talk informally, but since it's Midorima, you know that he needs to be prim at all times.


End file.
